Sen. Mitt Romney Calls on Steve King to Resign Over ‘Reprehensible’ Comments

Sen. Mitt Romney called on Rep. Steve King to resign Monday, after the Iowa congressman asked why the term “white supremacist” was considered offensive in an interview.

Romney, the newly-elected Utah senator, spoke to reporters about King, who has been condemned by Republican party leadership.

“I think he ought to step aside and I think Congress ought to make it very clear he has no place there,” Romney told CNN’s Manu Raju.

According to NBC News reporter Frank Thorp, Romney also called his comments “reprehensible.”

“They have no place in polite society, certainly no place in the Republican Party, and they should have no place in the United States Congress,” Romney said. “He ought to resign and move on.”

Mitt Romney tells me there’s NO place in the GOP or Congress for Steve King, calling on him to resign. “I think he ought to step aside and I think Congress ought to make it very clear he has no place there.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 14, 2019

ROMNEY: “Steve King’s comments are reprehensible. They have no place in polite society, certainly no place in the Republican Party, and they should have no place in the United States Congress. He ought to resign and move on.”

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) January 14, 2019

Romney is the first Republican lawmaker to call on King — a nine-term congressman who was reelected in the 2018 midterms — to resign.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy both spoke out against King over his remarks, which were made in an interview with the New York Times.

McCarthy pledged that “action will be taken” in response to King’s remarks, while McConnell said the comments “are unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position.”

You can watch the video of Romney’s remarks above, via CNN.

[featured photo via Getty Images]